Abstract [en]

Health clinics for adolescents are one of several services within the local public health. Such clinics may help adolescent to achieve control over the factors which affect their lives and their healthbehavior now and in the future. Adolescents are the next generation users of the general healthservices. The first experiences in their interactions with health professionals are of significanceregarding later use of health services. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the relations between adolescents, health personnel and the health clinic as a system. The study tried to find out adolescentsexpectations, experiences and perception when theyattended the service. Data was collected from youth of both sexes between 16-20 years who called on adolescent health clinics in two counties in northern Norway. The interviews were semi-structured giving the informants the possibility to do narratives. The interviews were analyzed in the tradition of grounded theory. The results of the study showed that adolescents perceived spontaneous trust in the health clinics andhealth professionals. Effective communication skills, assuring confidentiality and confidence in the youth’s ability to make good decisions regarding their own health, generated renewed trust inprofessionals and the institution. Trust became the analytic focus in this study. Trust is a key elementin the empowerment process which may result in adolescents increased control and self-confidence.If not, it may have dis-empowering effects and thus lead to reduced trust and less use of health services. The study also points out the phenomena of trust as “catching”, as one adolescent brings hisand hers experiences to their group of friends. In this way, the perceptions of trust/mistrust fluctuatebetween and among the youth; one persons experience will be another’s expectation. Health professionals should be given access to relevant postgraduate courses in order to secureevidence based practice where the content of education should increase their attention aboutcommunication when they meet with young people in health services. Professionals have to understand the nature of trust, how it is generated, maintained and how easily it can be diminished. Without trust present, the public health work will suffer.